33 days to Inauguration -- BULLETIN: Paul Weyrich passes -- Obama reminds the left that he’s driving the bus, and nods to red America, by agreeing to a Rick Warren invocation at swearing-in

SIREN -- WashTimes' Christina Bellantoni: "MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski was mugged outside a well-known Washington hotel while waiting for a car to pick her up for the 6 a.m. broadcast of the show she co-hosts with Joe Scarborough, 'Morning Joe.' As the show began, Mr. Scarborough blasted Washington without naming the hotel, saying he needed to talk about what had just happened to his co-host."

Robin Toner, in her own words … President Bush will have President-elect Obama and all the living ex-presidents over for lunch on Jan. 7 ... Obama presser in Chicago at 10:45 a.m. ET: Names first woman to head SEC today, then Emanuel pal Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) to Transpo tomorrow … James Kotecki, the Mozart of video blogging, returns to the Cypress Group, which advises clients in the financial sector … Nickelodeon covering its first inaugural

BREAKING 1 -- Paul M. Weyrich, 66, who helped found the Heritage Foundation and at one time was one of Washington's most visible conservatives, died this morning. At his death, he was president and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.

Heritage announced this morning: "Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and first president of The Heritage Foundation, died this morning around 1 a.m. He was 66 years old. Weyrich was a good friend to many of us at Heritage, a true leader and a man of unbending principle. He won Heritage’s prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Award in 2005. Weyrich will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, including son Steve, who currently works at Heritage."

GROVER NORQUIST of Americans for Tax Reform e-mails us a tribute: "Paul Weyrich created institutions and networks that incubated new and old powerful policies and strategies to advance liberty. ... He brought leaders of various freedom impulses together. Most of the successes of the Conservative movement since the 1970s flowed from structures, organizations, and coalitions he started, created or nurtured. Paul also lived a balanced life with work, family and his faith. We will miss his puns and wisdom and hard work."

Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online, who had the first word of his passing, called Weyrich "a Washington conservative institution" and "a patriot who lived a long life serving his nation."

BREAKING 2 -- AP -- "RWANDA GENOCIDE: ARUSHA, Tanzania -- The main organizer behind the 1994 slaughter of more than 500,000 people in Rwanda is convicted of genocide and sentenced to life in prison, the most significant verdict of a special U.N. tribunal set up to bring the killers to justice. Theoneste Bagosora was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity."

TONIGHT'S NETWORK NEWS -- WSJ.com: "FedEx said it was cutting nonunion workers' salaries by 5 percent and plans deeper cuts for CEO Frederick W. Smith and senior executives, citing 'some of the worst economic conditions' in the company's history. It is also eliminating bonuses and suspending company matching for its 401(k) plan."

USA Today’s cover story is “What kind of first lady will Michelle Obama be?,” by Maria Puente: “You could call it ‘Obamalot.’ … The incoming presidential couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, bear superficial similarities to John and Jacqueline Kennedy of the 1960s ‘Camelot’ White House — charisma, vigor, her fondness for sheath dresses, for instance. But maybe the most obvious similarity is that many Americans are as excited and curious about HER as they are about HIM. ‘People will be riveted,’ predicts Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN analyst. ‘She is going to set a record in the amount of attention she will receive.””

But what kind of dog does Chip, D.B.’s Pomeranian, think the Obamas should get?

DONNA, who turned 49 on Monday, BlackBerrys: "Chip is more anxious in making sure the new dog is children friendly, obeys his parents and best of all greet reporters with a ready smile."

CFTC – Bloomberg’s Tina Seeley and Hans Nichols: “Gary Gensler, a former U.S. treasury undersecretary and an ex-partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., will be named by President-elect Barack Obama to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a Democratic official. Gensler, 51, served as undersecretary for finance at Treasury during President Bill Clinton’s administration. More recently he was an economic adviser to New York Senator Hillary Clinton in her failed effort to win the Democratic nomination.”

FED – Bloomberg’s busy Hans Nichols and Rich Miller: “Obama today will name one of his economic policy advisers, Daniel Tarullo, to an open seat on the Federal Reserve Board.”

HANS HAD A FULL STORY OUT ON THIS AT 12:25 a.m. REUTERS first picked up the Bloomberg report with credit, then matched it at 7:46 a.m. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ALERTED IT AT 8:01 a.m.

TRANSCENDENT – Slug: "Meltdown-Autos" -- AP/Detroit: “Chrysler is closing all its North American manufacturing plants for at least a month, the starkest move yet taken by U.S. automakers as they anxiously await word about government loans. The shutdown comes as The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Chrysler has restarted talks with General Motors about combining the two ailing automakers. … Chrysler and General Motors fear they might not have enough money to pay their bills in a matter of weeks.

“Attempting to cut costs, GM was halting construction of a plant tied to one of its most important projects, the Volt. Ford also said it will shut down 10 plants for an extra week in January because of sluggish sales. Chrysler said Wednesday it would extend the normal two-week holiday shutdown that begins Friday to at least Jan. 19 at all 30 of its factories due to slumping sales. The lack of consumer credit is hampering sales and forcing the production cuts.”

DANA PERINO ANNOUNCES: "President Bush will host a lunch for President-elect Obama and former Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Bush on January 7, 2009."

AP had it at “a whopping $1 trillion” at 5:36 p.m., then dialed it back at 6:53 p.m. with “with Obama team zeroing in on $850 billion.”

THE BIG IDEA – L.A. Times A1, “Caroline Kennedy: This isn't her father's Camelot: Don't expect other politicians to swoon just because she wants to be a senator. Hey, this is New York -- and Cuomos and Clintons are in the mix,” by Geraldine Baum and Mark Z. Barabak: “Could this be an episode of ‘Family Feud," New York style?’”

The N.Y. Times fronts a story revealing that Kevin Sheekey, Mayor Bloomberg’s top political strategist, “is pushing hard behind the scenes for [Caroline], with Mr. Bloomberg’s blessing.”

INTERVIEW – WashTimes Executive Editor John Solomon and White House Correspondent Jon Ward sit down in the West Wing with Vice President Cheney – “Legacy: Cheney defends morality of war on terror: Office ‘consequential’ because Bush wanted it”: “Cheney offered a sweeping defense Wednesday of the Bush administration's war on terrorism and its use of aggressive interrogation techniques, declaring ‘it would have been unethical or immoral for us not to do everything we could in order to protect the nation.’ … ‘I do believe that the vice presidency has been a consequential office, if I can put it in those terms, in this administration. But that's first and foremost because that's what the president wanted,’ he said.”

NETWORK NEWS ALERT – Reuters feature by Andrea Hopkins in Cincinnati, “Americans sell possessions, buy used to cut costs … With the U.S. economy wallowing in recession and consumption grinding to a halt, stores that buy and sell used goods from clothing to gold are reporting a big boost.”

YOU’LL SEE THIS A MILLION TIMES IN JANUARY – Reuters’ Richard Cowan: “Bush, Democrats’ balanced budget goals disintegrate … With the economy in recession, two expensive wars dragging on and the prospect of hundreds of billions of dollars being spent to bail out ailing industries and stimulate the economy, nobody thinks it is possible to fix the budget by 2012. That was the date Bush set for achieving a balance between government spending and the revenues it collects. Even the Democrats, who control Congress and who said they too would erase deficits by around 2012, no longer are making any predictions.”

TOP STORY -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) -- chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is in charge of the swearing-in ceremony, while the Presidential Inaugural Committee handles the ancillary celebrations – yesterday announced that the program will include the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus … Aretha Franklin … Itzhak Perlman, Violin … Yo-Yo Ma, Cello … and Benediction: The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, 87, the civil rights leader.

The line in the release that produced an online earthquake was, “Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA.”

The selection is shrewd centrist shorthand by Team Obama. Rick Warren is the most popular working religious figure short of the Pope: He’s author of the 20-million-selling “The Purpose Driven Life,” with the unforgettable opening line, “It’s not about you.” Styling himself as “Pastor Rick,” he has given a softer face to evangelism with his attention to Africa and HIV/AIDS, and was considered fair to both presidential candidates during the forum he moderated in his sanctuary in August. TIME magazine calls him “America's New People's Pastor.”

BUT … the choice prompts GAY RAGE, per Politico’s Ben Smith and Nia-Malika Henderson: “Barack Obama’s choice of a prominent evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from a gay rights movement that – in the wake of a gay marriage ban in California – is looking for a fight. Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, opposes abortion rights but has taken more liberal stances on the government role in fighting poverty, and backed away from other evangelicals’ staunch support for economic conservatism. But it’s his support for the California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that drew the most heated criticism from Democrats Wednesday. ‘Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans,’ the president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote Obama Wednesday. ‘[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination.’” PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN – Rolling Stone explains why the left is so anxious to scapegoat Prop. 8 supporters: “Don't blame Mormons or black voters -- the California activists who tried to stop Prop 8 ran a lousy campaign.”

*****AND LINDA DOUGLASS of the PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEE tells Politico's Nia-Malika Henderson: "This aims to be the most open and inclusive inauguration in history. Warren has been a passionate advocate on behalf of the poor and has really led evangelicals to champion the interest who suffer from HIV and AIDS and been an outspoken voice on issue of global warming. President-elect Obama has made it clear that he doesn’t agree with Warren on issues around the LGBT community, but it is important to seek common ground especially around the faith community, that’s the only way to solve issues. And it’s important to note that doing the benediction is Joseph Lowery, who is a strong advocate of civil rights for the LGBT community and for all.”

DRIVING THE DAY (AND THE MORROW) -- “Next up for Obama: SEC, transportation,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday will name the first woman to head the Securities and Exchange Commission … Mary Schapiro is currently CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental association that oversees all American securities firms. She is a former SEC commissioner.

“Then on Friday, he’ll come back with a Republican for his Cabinet — retiring Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, who will be tapped as Obama’s transportation secretary, two Democratic officials said. Obama is keeping up this week’s news-conference-a-day pace with the announcement of Schapiro Thursday in Chicago. … LaHood has a friendly relationship with both Obama and incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. … LaHood urged more civility in the often-rancorous House and held bipartisan member dinners with Emanuel. While some Republicans criticized Obama’s selection of Emanuel as chief of staff last month, LaHood said publicly that it was a wise choice.”

BREAK THE GLASS ON THE EMERGENCY CHEESE: JAMES “SLASH” KOTECKI LEAVES POLITICO – SHUSTER SEEKS NEW SPARRING PARTNER – EAGLE SCOUT MADE GOOD – FIANCEE EMILY REJOICES – POLITICO MOURNS -- Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris writes the staff this morning: “The sizable community of people who has gotten hooked on James Kotecki's morning video--a group that includes many in the newsroom, including me, and many thousands of Politico readers, including my wife--is in for some serious withdrawal. As some of you already know, James has decided to explore some other pathways. He said he had gotten a bit restless with the daily performance. As a young fellow, he seems understandably eager to try some different roles before deciding what to do with his life. I get his logic but definitely regret it. James has a wonderfully original mind and brilliant, if quirky, instinct for performance and it was a privilege to play host to these talents on our site.

“James is a genuine innovator in an area where Politico is still eager to innovate--the creative use of video to engage our audience, in both irreverent and substantive ways. He will be at the Cypress Group, which advises clients in the financial sector, working on policy research and analysis. That struck me as an un-James-like job, but he is a man of many dimensions. And he will be good at whatever he does. My own hope is that in due course he may gravitate back to journalism and experimenting with the power of the Web. His last day at Politico, and his last morning show, will be on Monday. James has Jim and my thanks, and I know all of our best wishes.”

SALUTING ... Cecile Dehesdin for her hard work at Politico. Thank you so much. She's returning to France tomorrow. (Hat tip: Pamela Pulkownik)

SCOOP – “Former chiefs of staff meet with Emanuel,” by Politico’s prolific Jonathan Martin: “Most of the still-living former White House chiefs of staff had already offered their two cents to Rahm Emanuel at a breakfast earlier this month when it came time for perhaps the most serious man in a room of serious men to speak. ‘The most important thing,’ Dick Cheney told Emanuel with a sober stare, ‘is that you have to control your vice-president.’ With that, said a source in the room, the 11 other chiefs of staff and the one next in line for the job let out loud laughs. …

“At the invitation of the job’s current occupant, Josh Bolten, top aides to every president back to Gerald R. Ford gathered at Bolten’s conference table to spend an hour with Emanuel on the morning of December 5. Aside from the occasional state funeral, such high-powered men, and they are all men, don’t often gather. But in a nod to the elite fraternity in which they all belong and an eye on the weighty challenges that await Emanuel and his boss, they returned en masse to their old office in the West Wing: Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (Ford), Jack Watson (Carter), Howard Baker and Kenneth Duberstein (Reagan) John Sununu and Samuel Skinner (Bush 41), Mack McLarty, Leon Panetta, Erskine Bowles and John Podesta (Clinton) and Andy Card and Bolten (Bush). …

“One-by-one, at Bolten’s direction, each in the group took his turn at the table, offering advice, giving suggestions and generally trying to prepare the hard-charging Emanuel for a post that is stress-inducing even in more tranquil times than now. … He might have been a former top aide himself in the Clinton administration, but Emanuel took ‘copious notes’ the whole time, one participant recalled. … Bolten, who is Jewish and a motorcycle aficionado, set the tone by hosting the get-together in an office that is currently dominated by a Christmas tree bedecked with Harley-Davidson ornaments and pipes instead of a star on top. … Rumsfeld, especially, got a kick out of his sharing a high school alma mater -- the North Shore’s well-known New Trier – with Emanuel. The group also posed for a photograph in the Roosevelt Room and met briefly with President Bush in the Oval Office.”

TIVO – Tonight’s C-SPAN “WHITE HOUSE WEEK” segment at 9 p.m. ET: “The Lincoln White House: An evening at Lincoln’s White House – featuring an interview from the Lincoln Bedroom with Lincoln historian Harold Holzer and a look at Lincoln’s summer White House at the Soldier’s Home. Program segments: 9:00p Lincoln's Bedroom … 9:45p Lincoln's Summer White House at Soldier's Home … 10:15p LIVE call-in program with Historians Harold Holzer & Lonnie Bunch.”

DRIVING THE CONVERSATION -- N.Y. Times A1, "Big News in Washington, but Far Fewer Cover It," by RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA: "Those [Washington bureaus] that remain have cut back drastically on Washington coverage, eliminating hundreds of journalists’ jobs at a time when the federal government — and journalistic oversight of it — matters more than ever. Television and radio operations in Washington are shrinking, too, although not as sharply. The times may be news-rich, but newspapers are cash-poor, facing their direst financial straits since the Depression. Racing to cut costs as they lose revenue, most have decided that their future lies in local news, not national or international events. ... Albert R. Hunt, Washington executive editor at Bloomberg News, said he was taken aback by the mood Saturday night at a dinner of the Washington press corps’ Gridiron Club. 'It was like being at a wake,' he said. 'Every time you turned around, someone was talking about their bureau being closed or downsized.' ...

"A few organizations have bucked the trend, including The Wall Street Journal, which has put more reporters in Washington in the last year, and The New York Times, whose bureau has not changed much in size for years. Each paper has almost 50 people in Washington. To compensate somewhat for the retreat by its clients, The Associated Press bureau recently shuffled reporters to provide state-specific reports from Washington on all 50 states. The Bloomberg News bureau has expanded in recent years, and a few Internet sources, like Politico, are still expanding, but the number of journalists added is a fraction of the number lost. The real growth has been among narrowly focused news organizations, especially those that report on finance, said Joe Keenan, superintendent of the Senate press gallery. 'It seems like, for every newspaper that leaves, a niche publication comes in,' he said. Newspaper executives say it makes no economic sense to have hundreds of reporters writing about the same set of events each day. Even the affected journalists concede that on breaking news, news agency articles are often fine for their papers.

"The much greater loss, the journalists say, is the decline of Washington reporting on local matters — the foibles of a hometown congressman or a public works project in the paper’s backyard. ... As bureaus shrink, they cut back on in-depth and investigative projects and from having reporters assigned to cover specific federal agencies. 'We used to cover the Pentagon, combing through defense contracts, and we’re covering some of that out of Dallas now, but basically we don’t do it anymore,' said Carl Leubsdorf, chief of The Dallas Morning News bureau, which had 11 people four years ago, and now has four.

TIME MAGAZINE SCORES HUGE WITH ITS PHOTO GALLERY, “ Obama: The College Years: A 1980 photo shoot reveals a playful side of the president-elect.”

The photo of Obama in a floppy hat with a smoke makes the cover of the N.Y. Post as a tease to two pages of “Secret Obama photos.” The same shot takes up one-quarter of the front page of The (London) Daily Telegraph: “WHO’S SMOKIN’? Who is this college freshman smoking a cigarette in 1980? He has been named Person of the Year by Time magazine which said he ‘suspended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order.”

That line is from David Von Drehle’s cover story, “Why History Can’t Wait.”

ROBIN TONER MEMORIAL SERVICE – 11 a.m. today, Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, 3630 Quesada St., N.W., just off Chevy Chase Circle in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Washington, a few steps from the Maryland line.

ROBIN TONER IN HER OWN WORDS, in a promotional section, “It’s About The Journalism,” in The Times of Jan. 22, 2007, where she gets a whole page, dominated by a photo of several Americans in silhouette behind Old Glory: “Robin Toner loves politics. And not just because it makes for great stories. The more she covers it, she says, the less cynical she becomes. ‘Sooner or later, the American political system responds – to people who want to do things, change things, push their government to do more, or less.’ From the time she read ‘The Boys on the Bus’ at age 19, she knew she wanted to cover political campaigns. But she also covers what happens when the campaigns are over – the intersection of politics and policy. In her 21 years at The Times, she has reported on four presidential campaigns, countless Congressional and state elections, and scores of legislative battles on issues from health care to civil liberties. Covering campaigns helps her explain what will happen when the winners descend on Washington; covering the Hill helps her provide a reality check on the campaign trail.”

THE CRISIS --The (London) Times cover is dominated by a jobless line: “Jobless queue grows, and worst is yet to come: The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by 75,700 last month to 1,071,900. It is the biggest monthly rise in 17 years.”

INAUGURAL SPEED READ:

--NICK AT NOON – “Nickelodeon TV, the children's' network, is getting ready to cover its first presidential inauguration. Young reporters Lily Collins, rocker Phil Collins' daughter, and J.J. (Nick would not release his last name) will be in Washington on Jan. 20 to show Barack Obama's inauguration from a pint-sized perspective. Throughout the presidential campaign, Nickelodeon found that interest among its young viewers matched that of the adults. Nick's own online ‘election’ had 2.2 million children voting, with kids supporting Obama over John McCain (51 percent to 49 percent) in a closer margin than the real election. …The coverage will show up during commercial breaks and, most prominently, during the periods between regular shows in prime-time. Nick will offer a retrospective of past presidents taking the oath of office and interviews with young people about Obama's election and his inaugural address.

“Nick won't cover the speech live, but will take excerpts shortly after it is done from coverage on a news network and package it for its viewers. … The station's young viewers are particularly interested in the process because Barack and Michelle Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, are squarely in Nick's demographic, she said. Nick reporters covered the primary this year for the first time (another online poll found kids selecting Obama and McCain as the nominees before Super Tuesday) and went to the Democratic and Republican party conventions. Republicans didn't allow Nick TV reporters on their convention floor; the Democrats did.”

IN THE STATES – VIRGINIA -- WashPost A1, “Kaine Offers Major Shifts In Proposal To Cut Budget,” by Tim Craig and Anita Kumar in Richmond: “Gov. Timothy M. Kaine launched a budget-balancing proposal Wednesday that would transform the commonwealth's old-guard fiscal policies into ones that reflect the political conversion from red state to blue. Many of the prescriptions to address a $2.9 billion budget shortfall that he unveiled would have been inconceivable 10 years ago. He proposed doubling the tax on tobacco in a state that once based its economy on cigarettes. He wants to offer early release to some prisoners doing time for nonviolent offenses in a state that trails only Texas in executions. And he has suggested taking steps to end Virginia's long history of housing the severely mentally ill in institutions.”

NEW YORK – Newsday, “Leaders rip guv's budget cuts: LI leaders say hundreds of millions in cuts proposed by Gov. Paterson would have a 'damaging effect' on area schools.”

CALIFORNIA – L.A. Times A1: “California Democrats devise plan to hike taxes: By structuring them as fees, they would skirt GOP opponents and raise $9.3 billion. A court fight looms.”

OVERSEAS – The (London) Times: “Brown agrees date for troops to leave Iraq: Britain will end its military mission in Iraq next spring — six years after coalition forces invaded the country — Gordon Brown will say today. After weeks of fraught negotiations over the role of remaining British forces, Mr. Brown sealed the exit deal at a meeting with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, during a ten-hour visit to Baghdad and Basra yesterday.”

SPORTS BLINK – AP, NFL Playoff Scenarios:

Week 16 AFC SOUTH DIVISION TENNESSEE TITANS — Clinched the division and first-round bye. Can clinch home field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with: 1) A win. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) A win. 2) A tie and a New England loss or tie. 3) A tie and a Baltimore loss or tie. 4) A tie and losses or ties by Miami and New York. 5) A Baltimore loss and a Miami loss or tie. 6) Baltimore and New England both lose. 7) A Baltimore loss and a New York loss or tie. 8) A New England loss and a Miami loss or tie. 9) A New England loss and a New York loss or tie. 10) Miami and New York both lose plus Indianapolis clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over New York.

NORTH DIVISION PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Clinched the division and a first-round bye.

WEST DIVISION DENVER BRONCOS — Can clinch the division with: 1) A win or tie. 2) A San Diego loss or tie.

NFC EAST DIVISION NEW YORK GIANTS — Clinched the division. Can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) A win or tie. 2) A Minnesota loss or tie. Can clinch home field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with: 1) A win over Carolina. DALLAS COWBOYS — Can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) A win and a Philadelphia loss or tie and an Atlanta loss. 2) A win and losses or ties by Philadelphia and Chicago and a Tampa Bay loss. 3) A win and an Atlanta loss and a Chicago loss or tie and a Tampa Bay loss.

SOUTH DIVISION CAROLINA PANTHERS — Can clinch the division with: 1) A win or tie. 2) Tampa Bay and Atlanta both lose or tie. Can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) A win or tie. 2) Tampa Bay loss or tie and an Atlanta-Minnesota tie Can clinch home field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with: 1) A win over New York. Can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) A Dallas loss or tie. 2) An Atlanta loss or tie. 3) A Tampa Bay loss or tie. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Can clinch a playoff spot with: 2) A win, an Atlanta loss and a Philadelphia loss or tie. 1) A win, an Atlanta loss and a Dallas loss or tie. ATLANTA FALCONS — Can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) A win and losses by Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. 2) A win and losses by Tampa Bay and Dallas.

NORTH DIVISION MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Can clinch the division with: 1) A win. 2) A tie and a Chicago loss or tie. 3) A Chicago loss.

DESSERT – IT’S A LITTLE LATE – AP, “Soulja Boy apologizes for his potty mouth”: “Soulja Boy Tell 'Em is telling parents he's sorry for his vulgar words. The 18-year-old rapper became a sensation and started a dance craze last year with his Grammy-nominated hit ‘Crank That (Soulja Boy).’ Some of the language and subject matter in that hit was risqué, and on some of his YouTube videos, he's used some naughty words. So in an interview this week, Soulja Boy apologized to parents and says he is going to try harder to set a positive example for his young fans. ‘Over the past few months, I've had a chance to meet a lot of my fans face to face and it made me realize that I got a large fan base of kids that look up to me,’ he said. ‘I have a greater responsibility to the kids that want to be like Soulja Boy (and) I need set a positive example for them.’ Though Soulja Boy apologizes for his public behavior, he's not quite ready to become the ideal role model for kids. ‘I wouldn't say a role model because I think parents or a guardian should be a kid's main role model, but from now on, I'm going to make sure that every kid that looks up to me will get a positive image that the kids and parents can trust,’ he said. Soula Boy just released his new CD, ‘iSouljaBoyTellem,’ this week.”

ASK KENNEDY HOW TO DO A PASSABLE “SUPERMAN.”

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Authors:

About The Author

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.